Duty and Protocol
by Le Redhead Merchant
Summary: She'd only ever loved her family. Was that not enough? When Forte's stubborn views begin to unhinge, a change takes place.
1. Tired

She'd never loved anyone, not in a romantic sense. She loved her father, mother, brother, and friends. But she'd never loved anyone in this foreign, romantic way she was so often reminded of. Was that feeling really even love? Or, perhaps, some other emotion no one could place, therefore categorized into something already known. People tended to do that, didn't they?

She was forced to conclude that boyfriends, romance and dating were useless to her. Besides, she was hardly wife material; she knew nothing of being feminine. She couldn't cook, despised dresses or anything frilly, refused to indulge in frivolities, and cared only for her figure because her duty bound her to staying in shape.

As she drew her practice sword out of her demolished practice dummy, she swiped perspiration off her brow and contemplated exactly who would bare her heart, anyway. No man had ever asked her on a date or suggested his interested in her.

The only men she loved were her brother and father. She'd heard that lovers often couldn't shake their partner's face from their mind, and spent long periods of time just thinking about their other half. She persistently thought of her father. Was that not love enough for a woman? Sure, she did think of her father or brother as lovers do, but she had wishes to keep Kiel safe and happy. As for her father, she strove to bring a smile to his face to the day he perished.

She remembered his chiseled face, and dark, raven hair. She easily recalled many fond memories of her dad; her favorite happened to be the day he taught her to fight. "You're stronger than your brother, Forte; you're persistent and good-spirited. I believe you would make a fine knight," he'd declared. It was a lot to think about for a ten-year-old, but she proved mature enough to understand.

And so, she grew up and did as she was told, perfectly single and drama-free. And she was happy about it.

Wasn't she?

"Forte! Dinner's ready!" Kiel chirped, sticking his head in the doorway. His eyes widened. "Woah! You look like you've been run over by an airship! You definitely should wash up and get dinner, sis," he frowned.

Forte, resolve weakened by his large, pleading eyes, stumbled consent, "A-alright, Kiel. I'll be right in." She smiled in assurance and laid her sword against her bed before sliding open the door to her washroom.

"Okay!" he replied, "Do be quick!"

Forte nodded and slid the door closed. Turning, she gasped at the image looking back at her in the mirror.

Her clear turquoise eyes were sunken in and rimmed by a sickly purple color, the rest of her face pale, as if she'd seen... A ghost. Of course, ghosts most certainly weren't real. They were only a figment of her imagination. Anyway, she could only wonder how she'd run herself ragged like that. Perhaps she should get to bed earlier... But who would watch the town late at night? Although a few others were keen with a sword, it was her duty to protect the town. Still, she couldn't perform her duty if she collapsed on the job.

Bado was too lazy, Illuminata would get sidetracked within ten seconds, Frey, being the princess, was far too occupied with duties of her own, Kiel wasn't strong enough nor interested in fighting, Volkanon had his duties as well, Dylas... Well, he wouldn't talk to her as it was, Arthur...

Everyone was so... _Busy_ in Selphia.

Sighing, she turned on the faucet and grabbed the bar of soap, scrubbing her hands free of the sweat and dirt accumulated during the day. She heaved a sigh. Lately she'd found she was more tired than usual. Nothing had changed, really.

Well... Princess Frey had arrived. Although, that occured nearly six months beforehand, and Forte had settled into her new schedule by June. September had just swung around and summer's last golden rays were beginning to falter. ... Like her health, except she hadn't a clue why it was declining. Not to mention that Lady Ventuswill had recently collapsed, and no one seemed to know why.

_Well, I shall put it aside for now, _she commanded herself, dabbing a towel roughly on her hands and forearms.

She folded the rag and set it aside neatly on the counter, placing the soap bar on top of it. "Right then," she muttered, sliding the door open and making her way to their humble kitchen. She trotted up the short steps.

Kiel was standing at the sink, washing something. Dinner, a hearty mountain stew, was already on the table and ready to be consumed.

"Thank you for the meal," she smiled, pulling out her chair and slumping into its red cushion. The old wood creaked and protested, but she ignored it and whipped her napkin onto her lap.

Kiel merely chuckled, "No problem! It's all I can do while you work so hard!" The boy shook the water off his hands and wiped them on a towel. He turned on his heels. "Oh, guess what!" he exclaimed, and continued without waiting for Forte to respond, "Lady Ventuswill was sleeping peacefully today! She didn't look upset or yell in her sleep. It was really... Nice." He sat and grinned cheerfully, as if it were great that their dragon god was still (but a little less) incapacitated.

"Mm," she nodded, shoveling bite after bite into her mouth, remembering not to slouch. At least Lady Venti, er, Ventuswill could finally have peace for once. Forte put the spoon down at last to dab her napkin at the broth dribbling from the corners of her mouth. For a moment, they ate in reflective (and hungry) silence. Forte scraped every last bit of food from the bottom and drank the remaining broth.

"Forte," Kiel blurted suddenly.

She set the bowl down. "Yes?"

"Are you all right?" he inquired, but cut off her answer, "Actually, no, you aren't. You've seemed kinda off lately. Is anything wrong? Anything I can help with?"

Forte licked her lips, eyes drifting downward and settling on a stain on the table. How should she answer him? She hadn't any idea what could have changed. "I honestly don't know what's going on, Kiel," she replied quietly. She uttered the truth, after all.

He eyed her suspiciously, concern lacing his gaze. "If you say so," he sighed, "but please tell me if I can do something." With that, the blonde slowly backed his chair away from the table and grabbed his plate.

When he reached for hers, she gently grabbed his wrist. "Thank you, but I can get it."

"No, get some rest. I'll take care if the dishes," he denied her.

Feeling too worn to argue for once she wearily agreed. Besides, being a knight meant knowing your limits, and she knew full well that she was pushing hers in that moment. She stepped meekly to her doorway, slid her door open, and left it halfway open like she'd always done since their childhood. Kiel was twelve when both their parents passed away. Although he tried to man up and cope, he'd often wake up from horrid night terrors and scramble into bed with his fifteen-year-old sister. He was only twelve, after all.

The memories were simply memories by then. Both were grown adults, and handled their problems as such. Forte grasped her sword and set it against the wall beside her bed, then stumbled into the covers and yanked them over her body. She only sat up to reach over and blow out a candle by her bed.

Having always been a light sleeper, she naturally lied awake in the night, the darkness itself a warm blanket, amber rays of light pouring from the half-opened doorway.

Perhaps she really was just working herself too hard, and that happened to be a bad thing, because again, she couldn't perform properly if she was deprived of rest. _What a terrible knight I am for allowing this to happen_, she internally reprimanded as she rolled over, pulling the covers further over her body.

* * *

**Hey gaizzzzz. I just got Rune Factory 4 a few weeks ago, and I absolutely love Forte. And another character who'll be the leading man in this fiction. OwO ;D Since Forte is so hopeless, I think I shall make this my first official feel-good romance fic. Fluff alert for later chapters. :D No worries, though, none of that intense crazy hormone-driven icky stuff. We are mature adults here. Well, I am... and Forte is smart enough to keep herself from falling for knuckleheads. ;)**

**ANYWAYYYYY. I thought it was pretty ridiculous that NO ONE HAS A DOOR ON THEIR ROOM AND NO ONE HAS A BATHROOM so I took some creative liberties for reality's sake. •-• I'll also use the Gregorian calendar system because Spring 11 and Winter XY just... I can't. Do it. I also decided they'd have running water because RUNE MAGIC. Srsly. They have people like Arthur to be smarticle and figure those things out.**

**I'm immediately working on the second chapter. This short thing is only introductory. And, I promise you, I'm really excited about this so I won't leave you like I did last time I appeared in this archive. Pairings are all decided, so don't bother with that lol (I might add a bonus pairing outside of marriage candidates owo). If you're curious about my canonical pairings, shoot me a PM or sumpin! I love to chat with fellow authors.**

**Anyway, I'll only be narrating from Forte's point of view. Thank you for reading! ^o^**


	2. A Day Off

"F-Forte..." Kiel choked out, face smudged with dirt and - her heart skipped a beat - blood.

She screamed out a reply, "Kiel!" A hand grabbed her shoulder and held her back as she desperately flung herself toward him.

A soothing voice shouted something that the wind stole away.

When she turned her head to see the person's face-

"Forte! Forte! Wake up!"

She snapped her eyes open to see her brother's face hovering over hers. Soft light streamed in through her window accompanied by a lovely summer breeze. A stray golden leaf, one of the first traces of autumn, settled on the windowsill. But... She usually woke before dawn.

Forte straightened up in a sitting position immediately. "How long have I been asleep?" she cried. She swept blonde hair away from her face.

"Well, you slept in past your usual wake-up time, and you looked so peaceful! You were tired last night, too, so I let you sleep in," he smiled.

She could imagine the horrified look on her face as she uttered her reply. "Sleep in? I haven't... I haven't slept in in... Years!"

"Exactly!" Kiel frowned, "You need to give yourself a break, knight or not!" He crossed his arms in a parental manner and glared at his sister. He looked more like a pouty child than anything else, though.

Forte couldn't take him seriously. "Kiel, who will protect the town if I begin to slack off? Lady Ventuswill is unconscious and unable to protect herself. If there's any time to step up, it's now, even if I-"

"No!" Kiel barked in an uncharacteristically stern tone.

Forte's serious expression melted into shock. "Huh?"

"You need to rest, sis! All the others have been pitching in to help. You aren't alone, and no one is expecting you to take all the watches or stand at the castle gate twenty-four seven," he sighed wearily.

For a moment, only the winds rustling the leaves of the cherry trees filled a silence. She knew that the other villagers stepped up to help. However, most of them were already too busy to make a large difference; no one was a trained knight. She sighed. Maybe she expected herself to step up. Maybe it wasn't about the others, but about her failure to prevent harm from befalling the town. Nay, she couldn't keep everything out, but she could tighten her guard and prevent further catastrophe. "I know that," she replied.

Kiel looked at her as if she'd told him she wanted to take a dive from an airship. "Then why are you doing this to yourself?" he questioned, but snapped his back up straight, "Or do you not realize what you're doing?"

"I fully realize my faults, Kiel, but I cannot 'fix' myself. You should know of all people. Besides, you don't understand what it means to be a knight. There's a reason that I took up the position, Kiel."

He looked hurt, to say the least.

Had she gone too far? "I-I'm sorry, I..."

She was answered only by her brother's tight hug. "I'm just worried, okay? Take care of yourself. That's the best help you can give right now. We don't need you _and_ Lady Ventuswill out of commission," he sighed, pulling back and giving her a warm smile.

She eyed him wearily. "How do you know that it'd help, though?"

"I'm not the only one worried for you." With that and a sad smile, Kiel exited her room and slid the door shut behind him.

Her eyes fell to her feet, searching for something to fill the hole he'd just pierced in her feelings. She found nothing. Come to think of it, a hole had already been there, and his words only enlarged it. She knew he meant no harm, and only wished to help her, but in that he failed. It was the thought that counted, was it not?

Well, the boy had a point, whether she liked it or not. "I guess it really is... Time for a day off," she muttered, as if to convince herself it was really happening. She tentatively slid off the bed and had to stop herself from reaching for her sword. _Today, I'm just another citizen of Selphia. Today I am not a knight, but just a woman, _she thought bluntly. Just a citizen... nothing more. What should she do, then? She really wasn't much without her sword by her side.

Just then, there was a knock at the door.

"Can you get it? I'm making eggs for breakfast!" Kiel hollered, muffled clinking coming from the kitchen.

She replied hastily, "Of course! One moment!"

* * *

"Meg, I don't understand," Forte stated stonily.

Her elven friend jumped up and down like a small child. "Aww, c'mon! Please, just a- oh! Looklooklook! Hey! Are you listening?" Margaret clasped Forte's hand and pointed toward the other side of the plaza.

"Hm?" Forte squinted at two figures making their way to a bench. It was obvious who it was: Jones and Nancy. "I... Didn't think it was possible, but I understand even less now," she muttered.

"Just watch," Meg breathed.

Nancy's mouth moved and they both chuckled at her statement. Jones waited for Nancy to sit down, then took a seat beside her.

"They... Sat down," Forte observed.

Meg groaned and tossed her head back. "Well, yeah, they sat down! Look a little closer," she whined.

"Margaret, I don't have time for this."

The elf's jaw dropped. "What?" she fumed, "You said this was your official day off! What do you mean you don't have time for this? You technically have time for pretty much anything!" She stomped a foot on the ground and thrust her hands upon her hips.

"I have better things to waste my time on then... Whatever we're doing," Forte replied cooly, sighing. Whatever Meg was planning, it couldn't have been good.

"Oh, c'mon! I have something important to teach you!" she argued.

Forte disliked the idea of Meg as a teacher. "And what, pray, would that be?" she sighed.

"You won't understand unless you see it!" she frowned.

Forte shook her head and sighed, "Just tell me." What did her friend want to show her so badly? She stole a glance at Jones and Nancy once again, but stopped herself to take a good look at the married couple once more.

They were sitting close together, and Jones had an arm around Nancy's shoulders. The nurse was laughing cheerily with her husband about something.

"I want to teach you about... Being feminine!" Meg blurted. She punched the air for emphasis.

"What?" Forte rallied, eyes widening and heart skipping a beat. "B-but... I... It's-"

"No buts!" Meg shushed her, holding a finger to Forte's lips, "I am your master, and you are my student!"

"I did not agree to this!"

"Lesson one!"

"Hey!" Forte protested and attempted to grab the elf's arm.

Meg jumped back, ignoring Forte's discomfort. "Look at Nancy's delicately folded hands in her lap, and carefully done hair," she instructed.

Forte eyed her with cold, stone-hard sapphires.

Meg folded her arms and tapped an impatient foot on the stone pavement. "Look."

"I saw."

"No, you didn't! I mean really look."

"Meg, I did look at her."

"Ugh! You are completely, totally hopeless! Just look again!"

Forte replied with an indignant huff, knowing any further argument would get her nowhere. She turned her head to observe the nurse. Her blonde hair shone in the bright sunlight, and her posture erect, but not stiff. Her hands sat in her lap, just as Meg pointed out. That meant little, as Forte often placed her hands the exact same way. As for her hair, she never let it go unwashed for more than two days. "I see the things you pointed out, but I don't understand why they're significant," she frowned.

For once, the elf let a silence hang in the air before smoothing out invisible wrinkles in her ornate skirt and letting out a long "hmm."

"Meg?"

"Well," she began, "the point here is that she does things in a delicate manner, I guess. It just makes her seem feminine, right?"

Delicate? "What? I'm a knight. I can't afford to be delicate, don't be ridiculous," Forte chided, arms crossed over her casual dress.

A despairing frown crossed Margaret's features, and her back slumped forward. "You are absolutely hopeless," she muttered, throwing her hands before her face as if to lift them to the gods in prayer.

"Yay! It's Forte!"

Something assaulted her, grabbing on to her back and not releasing. "Gah! Unhand me, fiend!" she shrieked, attempting to throw off the monster.

Meg bubbled up in laughter. "Hey, cool it! It's just Amber!" she chortled.

"Yeah!" Amber slumped off her back. "I scared Forte," she sang.

Said knight had her hand pressed over her heart. "A-Amber! You did not scare me, I am merely... Er... Surprised!" she corrected, standing straight up once more. She'd not have anyone thinking their knight could get easily scared off-duty.

Amber simply giggled and clapped her hands.

Meg laughed sheepishly, "Well, class dismissed, I guess."

"Huh?" Amber chirped, "Are you a teacher, Meg? Can I go to school too?" She jumped up and down and punched her tiny fists in the air.

Forte's jaw clenched. No one could know about it... Not a single soul. "I-It's just a figure of speech, Amber. There was no 'school' or 'teaching', I'm afraid," she covered, lookinh nervously at Meg.

To her relief, the elf winked inconspicuously and looked at Amber, saying, "She's right! We were just having a nice chat, is all!"

Forte smiled gratefully.

Amber's eyes widened and sparkled. "Oh! Well, I'm gonna use that phrase so I can be cool like you guys! Bye now! I think Lumie will like that, too!" she twittered, waving as she bounced toward the flower shop.

The two women smiled at each other for a few seconds.

"Quite a handful, Amber," Forte cooed.

Meg nodded. "Yeah, but we wouldn't be the same without her!"

"Yeah..."

And for while, they sat and chatted like normal girls would. Forte didn't realize that until Meg walked away as the sun painted the sky with bursts of red and orange. The reddening sky reminded her of a far-off memory when a fisherman visited town. He told her "red at night, sailor's delight; red in the morning, sailor's warning." A soft smiled played at her lips.

Forte waved off her friend, then thought of possibly going to talk with Frey if she had no plans. Of course, the princess would likely carve out time for Forte regardless.

She started toward the castle when a blur flew from the left doorway and hirtled toward her. When she instinctively reached for her sword and found it wasn't there, she was left defenseless.

"W-Watch out!"

It crashed into her, knocking her onto the ground with a painful jolt. Whoever it was hastily stood back up. "Oh no! Forte, are you alright? I'm terribly sorry!"

She glumly blinked her eyes open and locked them with none other than the flaming violet eyes of Selphia's resident male butler apprentice, "Vishnal..." Stars flitted about her vision, pain dully throbbing in the back of her skull.

The butler's face pulled into an expression of fierce concern. He hastily kneeled and grabbed her forearms. "Forte? Can you hear me?" he shouted.

He sat so terribly close she could smell traces of Clorica's perfume. The scent seemed to stick to Vishnal although he never used it himself, most likely because of the, er, open-aired living quarters. Forte came to relate the aroma to all three of Selphia's butlers. "Yes, I can," she coughed, "and it was my fault for failing to pay attention. Although it'd do you well to start paying attention yourself."

"Oh, I'm so glad you're alright!" he chuckled, helping her to her feet. "To be honest, I didn't recognize you at first! You look so different without your armor!"

Forte's cheeks tingled and heated up. Did she really look that different? "I-I decided to take a day off," she explained, nervously clutching the hem of her blue dress.

Vishnal's jaw dropped. "What? Forte? Are you feeling well? Are you hurt? Did you hit your head?" he panicked, grabbing her wrist and checking her pulse, feeling her forehead, looking over her to make sure she wasn't injured.

"No!" she barked, "I'm fine!"

"O-oh," he muttered meekly.

"I have been fatigued as of late, and realized I cannot do my job well if I collapse and make trouble. So here I am," she huffed, putting her hands on her hips.

Vishnal laughed softly, "Oh, okay! Have you bathed regularly?"

She nodded. "Every day."

"Hmm," he hummed, tapping a finger to his chin, "perhaps take up something relaxing to do in your downtime? Kiel has plenty of books you could borrow! I'd let you borrow mine, but they're all about being a butler." He smiled sheepishly, looking to the ground like he always did in embarrassment.

Reading never interested her, but... It was an idea. "I shall take it into consideration. Thank you, Vishnal," she smiled. The two saw each other mainly as training partners, but she knew him well nontheless. That was often how it went in Selphia. You set something up, a daily routine with someone you may not even be interested in being friends with, and one day you find them to be a friend.

For a fleeting moment, she thought about Vishnal as a lover: holding her hand, walking by her side. She found no emotion attached to the idea and quickly dismissed it. Forte enjoyed Vishnal as a friend, nothing more.

"No problem! Take care, now!" he piped, taking his leave. He spun around. "Wait, Forte!" he cried before she even bade him farewell. "Princess is looking for you! She told me to tell you if I saw you! So, um... Goodbye!"

"Goodbye, Vishnal!" she replied, offering a friendly wave.

Suddenly, his remark about bathing sparked an idea. Lin'Fa and Xiao'Pai knew a lot about baths and relaxation. Why not ask them for help?

The thought carried her past Bado's and around the corner, to Bell Hotel. Grinning, Forte took a deel breath, released it, and civilly opened the door to the inn.

She walked in on quite the scene. The man who appraised weapons and gear, Barrett, and Arthur stood back from Frey, who stood on the thin red carpet trailing to the door.

Frey, determined look on her face, cried out something like "Omni Gate!" threw her hands up in the air and... Exploded.

The blast only lasted a second and Forte felt no heat upon her face, but it was an explosion nontheless. Everyone in the lobby looked at Frey's limp body.

"Frey!" Barrett, Arthur, and Forte shouted all at once, rushing to the princess's side.

"Frey, can you hear me? Are you all right?" Forte shouted urgently, kneeling down and lifting Frey's head onto her lap.

Her heart leapt when Frey's eyelids fluttered open. She smiled weakly. "I'm okay," she murmured.

"Are you sure?" Forte pressed.

"Oh Forte," Frey merely giggled, "I'm quite alright." She pushed herself to her feet.

"Everything okay over there?" Lin'Fa gasped.

Frey nodded. "Yes! No worries!" she confirmed.

Forte stood up beside her. "What happened here?" she demanded.

Arthur stepped closer, adjusting his glasses and speaking calmly, "Perhaps we'd best have a chat about this elsewhere?" He shot a sideways glance at Frey, who nodded in turn. "Yes," he spoke once more, "how does dinner sound?"

* * *

"So, what we're saying is... Ventuswill is dying." Frey's words, in such a simple sentence and gentle tone, seemed to drive chilled knives into her heart.

"W-what?" she breathed.

Arthur cast his eyes on the plate before him, food untouched. "I'm afraid it's true, Forte," he mumbled solemnly.

"We've been looking for a way for Frey to get to the Forest of Beginnings and back," Barrett rumbled.

"What? Why?" Forte inquired, curious as to why Frey would need to perform such a task.

"You see, Ventuswill asked me to rescue a man who's been... Erm, trapped in Leon Karnak. However, the tower has somehow fused with the Forest of Beginnings, is blocked by a large gate, and... I need a way in," she explained in a single breath.

Forte absorbed the information after a few seconds, nodding slowly. Before she could speak, Barrett made his voice heard.

"I have another idea," he declared.

* * *

**So... I shouldn't have promised to make all apparent. So I guess I lied. It might make sense if you realize what's going on :o anyway... I'm positive that the plot for this story will get rolling in... Two chapters at the most. ;3**

**Thank you so so so much for favorite-following this story! OwO**

Lilybud: Ooh, is that so? ;o Well, Forte isn't the favorite of everyone. I suppose I see a bit of myself in her, aha. Yes, I'm a fan of RF pairings that don't involve the protagonist. I feel like the series could be so much better if they did rival pairings... Anyway, thanks! ;D

**Oh, and... Major plot spoilers. Eheheh. Although, I'll try to keep the main plot from overpowering mine. Also, I looked up the plot and couldn't find a detailed description of it anywhere. If you've played the game and find that what I remember of it is glaringly incorrect, please let me know!**

**Thanks! ;D**


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